The Regulars
by Alfhild
Summary: Shikamaru and Sakura have unknowingly become a young waitress's One True Ninja Pairing. ShikaSaku. A one-shot.


Author's Note: I fell in love with ShikaSaku last summer, wrote this over the course of two days, and then left the file to sit for months. The story takes place a few years after the Fourth Shinobi War. The timeline doesn't really matter because I don't use many details from the manga in the first place.

This story was not beta'd, so my apologies for any mistakes, grammatical or otherwise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.

The Regulars

_Urbandictionary's definition of a shipper: The term "shipper" comes from supporting a ship. To ship something means a person wants two characters to get together and/or shows support for two characters already together."_

There had always been a slight disconnect between the shinobi and the civilian citizens of Konoha. That is not to say that there was animosity, far from it—the shinobi and civilians benefitted from a friendly, symbiotic relationship: the shinobi protected the civilians from outside threats (and in some darker circumstances, threats from within), while the civilians essentially kept Konoha running by providing the village with the essential businesses and services necessary to keep an economy thriving. But the shinobi and the civilians, though they intermingled, led such drastically different lives that neither could fully understand or appreciate how the other half lived.

And so most civilians kept company solely with other civilians, and looked on at the shinobi from a distance with a reserved measure of respect and awe. Most looked at the shinobi with whom they came into contact with a respectful regard; few would admit that they were sometimes a little nervous because of their incredibly strong next-door neighbors.

The shinobi, for the most part, ignored the civilians save for matters of business or shared recreation, such as the public bathhouse or movie theatre. It wasn't a conscious disregard on their part, but rather that the ninjas' time and minds were usually so preoccupied with duties and discussing said duties with other shinobi that they rarely took the time to establish the strong relationships with those ordinary citizens whom they had sworn to protect. Shinobi and civilians simply travelled in different circles, and no one in Konoha was perturbed by it.

But there were those civilians who, while lacking the desire to actually join, had a healthy interest in the shinobi world, and one such person was Maeko.

Maeko was young waitress whose inquiries into the shinobi lifestyle had only been piqued after Pein's invasion. Until that point, to her they had just been those mysterious ninja who came and went from the village on secret missions and protected Konoha from unseen threats, bringing prestige to the village and the Land of Fire. After the invasion which left the village decimated, both ninja and civilians alike had worked together to resurrect their village from the ash heap. And as Maeko watched a young medic-nin's hands glow green as she worked to heal her uncle after a part of his restaurant's roof had fallen in on him, she was fueled by a new-found desire to better understand the shinobi who surrounded her daily.

Sixteen year-old Maeko had been raised by her aunt and uncle and had grown up working in the family business, Azusa, which was the kind of restaurant one could take a group of friends for a fun night out to dinner, as well as make a good impression on a first date (the restaurant had a divider so that couples were not distracted by the volume around the more crowded tables). When she wasn't working at Azusa, she was spending her time learning more about the shinobi world, often stopping by the Ninja Academy after-hours to pick a chunin instructor's brain, or taking out a history book in the library to better understand what led to Konoha's founding.

Maeko was an observant person by nature with a penchant for people-watching and the written word—two past-times which she hoped to one day combine and become a best-selling author the likes of which had not been seen since Jiraiya. Without the smut. Okay, maybe with some smut. As long as it was done tastefully. Was it possible to write smut tastefully? Perhaps if she just included some really hot making out and cut to the next scene once the clothes started to come off, or—

The waitress was interrupted from her reverie when she heard the quiet tinkling of chimes, signaling that the restaurant's doors had opened. Maeko pushed herself off the bar she'd been leaning on and moved to lead the first customers of the night to their table. With pleasure, she noted that this evening's clientele were shinobi. They rarely served shinobi during this time of the year. This would be an excellent opportunity to view shinobi behavior in a recreational environment!

Maeko shuddered at the ridiculously clinical language her mind had supplied. That had sounded more like a lab report than an artful narrative. Maybe she ought to stay away from including smut. Her sex scenes would probably read more like an instruction manual than written erotica.

Upon seating them, she got a better look at the table of four and realized that she knew these shinobi. Well, she didn't _know them_ know them, but she was aware of who they were and had been in close proximity to them. That had to count for something.

Seated at the head of the table one was Ino Yamanaka. Across from her sat Kiba Inuzuka. And on the other two sides of the table sat Sakura Haruno and Shikamaru Nara.

No pressure, she was just serving a handful of the best and the brightest shinobi Konoha had to offer. Nope, no biggie. The small, bitter part of her that resented her day-job, whispered that these prestigious ninja had better tip well.

"What can I start you off with to drink?" Maeko asked a few minutes after she'd handed them their menus.

Ino Yamanka supplied an answer before anyone else could open their mouth, ordering one of the more expensive wines from the menu. She shot the Inuzuka, whom Maeko presumed was her date, a cheshire grin. He returned the look with a helpless smile. She was clearly going to take advantage of his wallet tonight. Maeko wondered if this was revenge for something, or if she just had high expectations when she went out on dates.

When Maeko returned from the small bar at back of the room with the wine bottle in her hand, she noticed the blonde chatting coquettishly with the young man across from her while the remaining two members of their party sat slumped somewhat in their seats, frowning, and staring into space. After spending years working in a restaurant, the waitress had acquired quite the ability to read the vibes of Azusa's guests, and Maeko had a feeling neither Shikamaru nor Sakura wanted to be there this evening. Nothing was more annoying to disgruntled customers than an overattentive waitress; she'd try to back off as best she could without her boss, Uncle Renji, noticing.

Within ten minutes a few more tables were filled, and Maeko came back to Table Six (the shinobi's table number, although she was tempted to call it Table Ino in her mind, as she seemed to be spear-heading the conversation) to take their appetizer and entrée orders. She was secretly very excited to judge them based off of their orders. The food people order and the way in which they order it can be very revealing about the kind of people they are.

To her surprise—and maybe slight disappointment—everyone got something normal. And then Kiba had to make her life difficult by complicating his order. Had he really gone out to a restaurant and requested his food be made without black pepper? It was in everything! Maeko simply nodded along as she wrote his request down, silently hoping that the chef—her aunt Megumi—could still make his order without one of the most common and necessary food ingredients.

Upon asking a "will that be all?" the pink-haired medic—half grunting, half speaking—ordered a cup of their strongest sake. Giving her a once-over, Maeko noticed how listless Sakura appeared, and had a sneaking suspicion she was only out tonight as a favor to someone. The Nara shot his date (at least, the waitress assumed as much, given the seating arrangement and overall vibe of the table) a quizzical look before the corners of his mouth turned up slightly and ordered a cup of the same.

By the time Maeko was setting down Table Ino's appetizers some fifteen minutes later, a slightly flushed Sakura and Shikamaru looked to be in much brighter spirits, actually engaging their friends in conversation. Alcohol truly was the greatest social lubricant.

It had started to get a little busy at Azusa, and they were short-staffed that evening, so Maeko didn't get much downtime to people-watch, but she did observe as she brought the shinobi their entrees that it was now Sakura and Shikamaru in charge of the discussion, speaking animatedly to each other about the council's latest legislation changes, while the Yamanaka stared at her food glumly and frigidly sipped her wine, clearly displeased with the direction the table's conversation had taken, while the Inuzuka looked back and forth between Sakura and Shikamaru, clearly lost.

The waitress was slightly surprised. Nara Shikamaru had the reputation of being a less than enthusiastic person, and here he was almost. . . giddily rapping his knuckle against the table as Sakura responded in earnest to whatever he'd said last.

Ino silently moved her wine glass so that Maeko could refill it. She took the hint.

It had finally quieted down once the other occupants of the restaurant began to eat their meals, giving Maeko a few moments of rest. Of course, resting for a waitress actually consisted of making oneself look busy, but it was more relaxing than waiting on tables. Maeko's favorite form of busywork was drying wine glass—a necessary task that required zero mental preoccupation and allowed her a panoramic view of the room from her position behind the bar. Her eyes scanned the place, finally landing at Table Ino, or Table Shikasaku now, as they had clearly become the dominant members of the group and—wait, did she just invent a couple name? Oh God, she had started shipping people in real life.

Suddenly, Kiba and Ino both stood up, and she heard them say something about getting dessert elsewhere as Kiba placed a clump of bills on the table, and the two walked out.

But Shikamaru and Sakura, who remained seated, didn't seem to notice. They'd barely glanced up to wave goodbye to their departing friends before resuming whatever it what they'd been talking about.

Oh, wow. Maeko had been mostly kidding about shipping the ninja pair at Table Six. Maybe she hadn't been too far off the mark.

The waitress chewed her lip as she thought about it. From what she knew about these people, the pairing made sense. They were both incredibly smart and held an air of maturity that separated them from the rest of their peers, if their politically-centered interests were any indication. Shikamaru was renowned as a lazy genius while Sakura's reputation of one of the hardest workers in the village was equally well-know. Perhaps it would be a complementary match. No—supplementary was the better word choice.

Deciding now was as good a time as any, she walked over to her favorite table of the night and took their dessert and coffee orders. The waitress noted that they would not be sharing a dessert. They were clearly in denial.

Forty minutes later, Maeko was getting the _check, please_ signal from the lazy genius, and when she approached the table, Sakura suggested that they split the bill, telling him he didn't have to pay for her since it was really all Ino's fault (Maeko wondered what that meant), but he silenced her with a gesture and a pointed look, telling the waitress he'd be covering it and mumbling something about troublesome women as he opened his wallet. Before turning around to head over to the register behind the bar, Maeko caught the sheepish smile Sakura cast her date's way, and the way her cheeks reddened slightly.

When the pair left, hopefully to continue their evening with a romantic moonlight stroll filled with innocent the "accidental" shoulder brushing and knuckle grazing that come with walking closely side-by-side, Maeko counted a twenty-percent tip left anchored to the table by Shikamaru's coffee cup.

Classy. That Nara was a keeper. She'd definitely found her One True Ninja Pairing.

* * *

><p>Two days after the night of the shinobi double-date, Maeko was sent out on an errand to the marketplace for more rice. As she walked through the crowded streets, she caught a distracting glimpse of pink out of the corner of her eye.<p>

About twenty paces to her left was none other than Haruno Sakura. And she wasn't alone—walking alongside the pink-haired girl was Nara Shikamaru. They were eating dango, and she was very visibly blushing. Shikamaru appeared very relaxed as he walked next to her, but upon further inspection, Maeko couldn't help but think that his posture looked little _too_ relaxed, as if he were overcompensating for something.

Was this a planned outing, or a chance meeting in the marketplace? Had he bought the dango for them to eat on their way to wherever they were going? Maeko twirled the hair of her ponytail absentmindedly around her finger as she thought about it.

Both ninja were geared up in their jonin vests and headed in the Hokage Tower's direction, so Maeko assumed there was official business involved, but still, with the sidelong glances Shikamaru kept sending her way when she wasn't looking, coupled with the spring in Sakura's step, the situation looked more like a boy walking his crush home from school than an official escort to the Godaime.

Delicious.

* * *

><p>Azusa usually opened at eleven-thirty in the afternoon and closed at twelve in the morning, with a two hour break between four and six o'clock in the evening to for the kitchen staff to make the switch from lunch to dinner. However, on Sundays, they offered a breakfast special (which, Maeko was grateful, meant they closed early that day). And on the Sunday that followed her sighting of her new favorite ninja pair in the marketplace, Maeko had the pleasure of serving Team Ten, plus Sakura.<p>

Maeko was psyched for this. Although merely a bystander, she felt that by watching this burgeoning romance (and she refused to believe it was anything but), she was somehow a part of it. Not in a creepy, psychosexual sort of way. She merely saw herself as a small thread in the tapestry of their—

She had to stop with the treacly metaphors. She had an invested interest in the couple because she'd watched it from the start. And was hopelessly romantic almost to a fault. The whole thing felt like she was rooting for the couple in a romantic comedy to finally get together.

And she would certainly have a front row seat to it today. Usually business was booming on Sunday mornings, but today, probably because of the rain, there were only two occupied tables, meaning Maeko could sit back and discretely watch things unfold from behind her favored spot behind the bar.

She noted that Ino and her other teammate, Akimichi Choji, were rather quiet as they looked curiously back and forth between Sakura and Shikamaru, who conversed amicably with one another. Okay, more than amicably—they were definitely flirting. Not outrageously so, but the grins, smirks, playful jesting, and prolonged eye contact were enough to tell. They were sitting so close to one another that Maeko reckoned it would be difficult to separate them with a sheet of paper.

From her surreptitious eavesdropping, the waitress learned that the four ninja were getting ready for a training session that afternoon. Apparently, Shikamaru had never been on the receiving end of her chakra-enhanced strength.

"You're gonna find out just what I can do with my chakra today, Nara," Maeko heard the medic say as she approached their table with their breakfast tray.

And while Sakura's statement was said innocently—well, innocently wouldn't be the right word here, but she had meant to imply, "get ready for me to kick your ass," and _not_, "I can use my medical prowess to blow more than just your mind"— Maeko noticed how instead of a wise-ass retort, the shadow-user blushed ever so slightly and seemed to look everywhere but at the woman beside him. Maeko bit her lip as she fought to conceal a grin; she had an idea of the territory his mind had wandered off to.

And by the look on her face, so did Ino. But instead of blowing up his spot, she remained quiet, her face taking on a slightly devious expression. Perhaps she was already plotting something for their upcoming training session. . .

As the meal continued, Maeko noticed that when Choji or Ino talked, although the other two looked like they were trying to listen, their eyes would inevitably meet and Shikamaru would give Sakura a small smirk, or Sakura would throw a half-grin his way before turning her attention back to the speaker. And none of this was lost on the blonde at their table.

After they left, Maeko noticed the presence of three, not four, separate checks. Shikamaru had paid for two.

* * *

><p>A month had passed before Maeko saw the pair together again, and honestly, she'd forgotten all about Shikamaru and Sakura by then. One could only hold so much interest in the lives of two people one barely knew, after all. But she was still pleasantly surprised to see them sit down at a deuce for lunch. The waitress happily noted that they were seated in the more secluded of the restaurant typically occupied by couples. She politely greeted them, and as they looked up at her, recognition dawned on their faces, and they each smiled and gave their hellos.<p>

As she made her rounds about the room, her giddiness was renewed at the sight of the obvious, subconscious body signs of mutual attraction on display: the way they leaned towards each other from across the table; the habitual smoothing of hair as they talked; Shikamaru toying with the zipper on his vest while she joked; Sakura occasionally touching her lips as she listened to him.

Oh yes, Maeko knew the signs. She had voraciously studied articles on body language in salacious magazines.

And yet there were no overt signs of affection: no hand-stroking, or brushing of the other's hair behind the ear, and they certainly didn't feed each other. Were they just not into PDA, or had they not in fact begun dating?

Maeko heard them talking about a mission from he'd just returned, as she walked past their table on her way to the kitchen. Perhaps he'd had to leave before anything serious could happen between them. Maybe this was a lunch date to see if time had dulled their feelings. Or maybe they went out to eat all the time, the mission was a one-day job, they were just friends, and—

She was reading way too into this. But the endless possibilities were just so fun to speculate about. She felt like a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Phil.

When Sakura got up to visit the restroom, Shikamaru covertly signaled Maeko over. Apparently it was Sakura's birthday. He asked her to bring out a slice of cake with a candle in it.

Maeko swooned internally. It was a birthday-date!

Within minutes of Sakura's return, Maeko was bringing out the dessert, and upon wishing her a Happy Birthday, told them that it was on the house.

"How did you know? I never said anything." Sakura's smile was positively radiant and she looked so surprised.

After Sakura blew out the candle signifying her twentieth birthday, the medic and the shadow-user shared the slice of cake in companionable silence. Sakura spent most of her time staring at the plate, but whenever she gazed up at Shikamaru from lowered lashes, the look in her eyes. . . well, Maeko didn't know quite how to describe it—she'd never known green eyes could look so warm.

_Oh shit_! This was a crucial step, she knew it!

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Maeko found herself in the Konoha Public Library, searching for an old cookbook her aunt had requested. It took her several minutes to find the right section, and she'd had to climb up a ladder to do it, but she'd managed to find what she was looking for and now stood in the checkout line, victorious. It was a rather long line, but understandably so, since it was Saturday. She decided to look about the place to pass the time, and turned around to get a better view of the rest of the room behind her. Her eyes landed on a table a good thirty feet from where she stood. Seated at that table was Shikamaru bent over an ancient scroll, a look of concentration on his face.<p>

And suddenly Sakura was behind him with several scrolls of her own tucked underneath one arm. She was using the other to poke him playfully in the back.

Had they come here together, or had they just found one another by coincidence?

Maeko could tell that from the way the medic continued to molest him, she intended for her actions to annoy, but the small smile tugging at the corners of his lips betrayed Shikamaru's happiness at her close proximity. Not that Sakura could see that from her vantage point.

Her musings were cut short when Maeko heard the librarian's attention-grabbing call of "Miss?" and realized the older woman had been addressing her. Slightly embarrassed, she handed the librarian the book and her card. When she turned around to leave and get a final glimpse of the pair, they were gone.

They must've left together. Or maybe they were having a clandestine make-out session behind a bookshelf. Good for them.

* * *

><p>Several weeks later on a Friday evening, Azusa was packed and hosting a notably large table. This table was of particular interest to Maeko because it exclusively seated shinobi. Naruto Uzumaki, Ino Yamanaka, Neji Hyuuga, Tenten (did she have a last name?), Choji Akimichi, Rock Lee, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, Shino Aburame, and of course Sakura Haruno and Shikamaru Nara were all there. Also included at the table were Temari and Kankuro of the Sand village. It was well-known to the public that the Kazekage was visiting on some official business with Lady Tsunade, and he had brought his siblingssecurity team along as usual. It was not terribly uncommon to see either Temari or Kankuro in Leaf on occasion, and so most Konoha citizens had learned to recognize them.

One of the first things that Maeko noticed was that Shikamaru and Sakura were not seated particularly near each other—Shikamaru was seated several seats away from her on the opposite side of the table, and beside him sat Temari. Hyuga Neji sat next to Sakura, and the young man was actually smiling as he talked with her. There wasn't much Maeko knew about Hyuga Neji, but one of the few things she did know was that he was not a very smiley person.

As she brought the table their first round of drinks for the night, she noticed a number of things. The young Akimichi stared wistfully at Ino when no one was looking; Kiba was flirtatiously toying with the buns on top of Tenten's head, and in response she threatened him with a kunai she'd pulled seemingly out of nowhere; Kankuro and Naruto were messing with the salt and pepper shakers closest to Rock Lee; Temari was tugging on Shikamaru's ponytail similarly to how Kiba had been doing to Tenten, and winking when his cheeks turned a rosy shade of pink.

Hold. Up.

Why was this woman making teasing advances on the Nara boy? Did Sakura Haruno have to choke a bitch?

Maeko's eyes darted to Sakura, but the medic wasn't even looking Shikamaru's way—her body was turned slightly towards Neji as she gave whatever they were discussing her full attention.

What had happened to the beautiful, blossoming romance between Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru over the past few months? Was her ship sinking?

Perhaps she was reading too deeply into all this and Shikamaru and Temari were just really good friends, as were Sakura and Neji. Perhaps she also needed to take the table's orders because they were all staring up at her awkwardly and expectantly while she'd been spacing out.

Maeko began to take down their orders and during a holdup—the result of Naruto Uzumaki frantically searching the menu for something to order (she really hated it when people did that)—out of the corner of her eye she noticed Neji lean over towards Sakura and murmur something in her ear, and it must have been something funny, because she began to giggle. The exchange was not lost on the Nara.

Maeko held up a hand to Naruto. "You know what, I'll give you a little more time." The waitress shifted her attention to take the next person's order. That person happened to be Shikamaru.

Not that he noticed, he was too busy staring vacantly into his glass. An uncomfortable silence ensued for several seconds until Temari nudged him and told him, in an irritated tone, that it was his turn to order. Barely looking up at the waitress, he gave his order in a monotonous tone, which was not unusual for him—in fact, nothing seemed out of place about him save for the rigid set of his shoulders.

At a quarter to eleven, Maeko was bringing the ninja table another round of drinks when she saw the medic of their group stand up and place some bills on the table.

"Sorry guys, I've got to head home—early shift at the hospital tomorrow," Sakura informed them as she swung her purse over her shoulder and bid them adieu. A chorus of goodbyes followed her as she made her way to the door.

Nara Shikamaru, who had not bid her farewell, silently remained in his seat for all of fifteen seconds before placing money of his own beneath his glass, and wordlessly getting up to go after her. Everyone else at the table exchanged confused looks. Except Ino who was attempting to conceal her smirk behind a drink from her water.

Shikamaru hadn't even bothered to explain himself to his friends. He just got up and left to take care of business like a real-ass man. It was all Maeko could do to keep herself from sighing loudly and leaning against the wall for support. _Shiiit. That was so romantic, I cant even breathe right now, _she thought to herself.

A nearby table called Maeko over and asked for a particular bottle of wine that wasn't in stock behind the bar, and so she asked one of the other waiters to momentarily cover for her while she went down to the wine cellar.

It just so happened that the wine cellar could not be accessed from inside the restaurant, so Maeko had to make her way down a small alley outside the back entrance to get to the cellar doors. What she saw next made her stop in her tracks.

Not fifteen feet from her, partly shrouded in shadow, stood Shikamaru and Sakura. But standing wasn't all they were doing. Shikamaru had the pink-haired woman pinned against the wall and partially straddled on his knee while he kissed her fiercely.

Maeko heard him murmur something in a low tone, and she couldn't quite tell what he was saying, but it sounded something like, "She means nothing to me. Whatever we had when I was a chunin is in the past. All I want is you. I just want you." Of course, it wasn't all strung together lucidly; each phrase was punctuated by a desperate kiss to Sakura's lips.

Sakura seemed to believe him, if her arms, which had now tightly wrapped around his neck to bring him closer and deepen the kiss was any indication. Then the medic suddenly pulled back slightly, separating their mouths and looking up into the eyes of the man in whose embrace she was held so tightly. Maeko heard her say the name "Neji" and something about jealousy in an apologetic voice, and then Shikamaru was shaking his head and guiding her mouth back to his in a kiss that wordlessly told her that all was repaired.

And when their hips began to slowly grind against one another's, Maeko took that as her cue to leave, quietly backtracking into the restaurant, her face red with embarrassment. It was one thing to read about such scenes in books. It was another to bear witness to such an intimate act between two real people. They deserved their privacy. And she wasn't about to deal with the awkwardness that would ensue if she interrupted them.

When she was back inside, she apologized to her table and told them that Azusa had run out of the wine they'd ordered, and asked if another one would mollify.

* * *

><p>While she occasionally saw Shikamaru and Sakura together around the village, the next time she saw them at her family's restaurant was a year later for an engagement party.<p>

Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Choji were to be married in the spring.

Maeko had been surprised to learn of the couple's engagement. She hadn't even know the two were dating! How had she not caught on sooner to this gem of a courtship? She really had to be more observant in the future.

The End

Author's Note: I loved writing this story through the eyes of an OC who is essentially a surrogate audience member. For the record, I hold absolutely nothing against Temari—I rather like her, actually, so the "choke a bitch" line was not intended as an insult to Temari, but as a reference to internet memedom as well as a way too illustrate how we shippers feel when other characters seen to come between our ship.

The more I consider the ShikaSaku coupling, the more it makes sense to me. Shikamaru needs a smart, somewhat aggressive woman while simultaneously being able to keep his masculine identity in tact, and I see a relationship between him and Sakura as fostering that sort of environment. Keep your eyes peeled for more ShikaSaku pieces from me in the future!


End file.
